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es are not that short, due to the constant ups rounded by the walls of the ancient castle.
Puglia among pure nature and downs. From the port to the center of the Byzantine, with its narrow streets carved into
the rock, craft shops, inns and winding stairways,
village 20 min. (uphill) and 15 minutes down-
and spirituality: Tremiti hill. climbing between the little white houses. Pro-
Gargano National Park Visit of the Grotta del Bue Marino, 70 m. deep ceeding through the ancient Umbra Forest, the
and dominated by high cliffs, which owes its
green heart of the Gargano National Park. Dinner
4 days name to the monk seals that used to stop here; and overnight in hotel.
the Grotta delle Viole, whose name derives from
1st Day: Tremiti Islands the purplish red color of calcareous algae; the 3rd Day: Monte Sant’Angelo - Manfredonia
Grotta del Coccodrillo, the rock of the Elephant
Departure for Monte Sant’Angelo, visit of the
Boarding for the Tremiti Islands (approx. 1 hour and the beautiful Pagliai. Boarding for the return, Romanesque complex of San Pietro, Santa Maria
of navigation), the only Italian archipelago in dinner and overnight in hotel. Maggiore and the medieval district Junno and the
the lower Adriatic Sea, composed of 5 small wonderful Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo,
islands, completely different. Only 2 of them 2nd Day: Gargano an international pilgrimage destination since the
are inhabited: San Nicola and San Domino. Full day stay in Gargano: an itinerary that, cross- Middle Ages. This is where the apparitions of the
The others are the Capraia, the Cretaccio and the ing the enchanting southern coast, touches Man- Archangel took place in a cave
distant Pianosa. Walking tour of the Island of San fredonia, until arriving in Vieste. The coast is “Before coming here... go to Monte Sant’Ange- Business Proposals in Apulia
Nicola, a real open-air museum. It hosts the larg- interspersed with ‘’trabucchi’’, ancient wooden lo and call upon the help and protection of the
est abbey in the Mediterranean Sea: it’ s the ab- fishing tools and coastal watchtowers, a defense Archangel Michael.” Padre Pio
bey of S. Maria a Mare, whose origins are lost in against frequent attacks by Saracen pirates. Vis- After lunch continuation to Manfredonia, a
the legend. The Benedictines settled here in the it of the old village of Vieste, consisting of alleys city founded by Manfredi of Swabia: visit of
11th century. In 1334 it was attacked by pirates, with white houses linked to medieval arches (on the Cathedral, the Castle of the Angevin era
but a few decades later it was once again inhabit- request: boat trip to the sea caves of the Garga- and, just out of the city, the suggestive Ro-
ed by canons. The abbey was suppressed in 1783 no). The Pizzomunno is an imposing 25 m. high manesque Church of Santa Maria di Siponto.
by King Ferdinand IV of Naples. Abandoned for limestone monolith at the beginning of the beach Dinner and overnight in hotel.
centuries, most of the external perimeter, the south of the town, called “del Castello” (be-
church facade and some valuable mosaic floors cause it is dominated by the Swabian Castle) or 4th Day: San Giovanni Rotondo
are still visible. “Scialara”. Thanks to its grandeur and its charm Visit of San Giovanni Rotondo. In 1916, the then
Curiosity: The sanctuary of Santa Maria a Mare it became the symbol of the Gargano town it- very young Padre Pio arrived here. He dedicated
self.
his life to the service of the Church, promoting
is a sort of fortress-monastery that makes the the creation of Prayer Groups and the realization
Tremiti islands unique. So how was it possible Curiosity: According to the tale, in Vieste lived a of charitable works, first and foremost the “Casa
to build such a large structure on such a small young fisherman called Pizzomunno, handsome, Sollievo della Sofferenza” Hospital, defined as a
archipelago? Legend has it that the Madonna tall, with black eyes and hair. He was deeply in “temple of prayer and science”. The hospital is
appeared to a hermit in a dream, asking him to love with Cristalda, a young girl with sea-eyed located near the two churches dedicated to San-
build a large temple and pointing out a place eyes and very long blonde hair. Every day Pizzo- ta Maria delle Grazie, where Padre Pio lived and
to dig. At that point, the hermit found a sepul- munno went to the sea to drop his nets and each worked, and the new church designed by Renzo
chral inscription and, behind it, a large treas- day, the mermaids, daughters of the god of the Piano in which the mortal remains of St. Pio of
ure, which made it possible to build the sanctu- sea, tempted him with bewitching songs and pro- Pietrelcina are kept.
ary. posals of love. Furious of the continuous refusals,
Fish lunch in a traditional restaurant. In the they decided to punish the young man, dragging Curiosity: San Giovanni Rotondo was founded in
afternoon departure by boat for the tour of his beloved into the depths of the sea. He suf- 1095. Among the ruins that still exist you can see
the Island of San Domino, the largest island fered so much that he felt his heart and body pet- the remains of a baptistery, it is said that it was
of the Tremiti archipelago, the most charac- rified by the pain, until he became the cliff that intended for the cult of the Roman god Janus,
teristic from a naturalistic point of view. En- still today dominates the “beach of the Castle”. and then became a chapel dedicated to San
tirely covered with Mediterranean scrub, Legend has it, however, that the god of the sea, Giovanni Battista (this is why the village is called
it has only one sandy beach, Cala delle Are driven to mercy, decided to make up in part for “San Giovanni”). The circular shape of the bap-
ne. the terrible gesture committed by his daughters, tistery ended up giving the place its name. Thus,
Curiosity: cars are not allowed on the Tremi- allowing the two lovers to meet, every 100 years, “San Giovanni Rotondo” is not a new saint, but
simply the name given to the circular chapel of
on a night of full moon.
ti archipelago, the only ones that circulate are Lunch in a restaurant. San Giovanni Battista around which the town was
those of the residents, therefore in San Domino In the afternoon a short stop in Peschici, sur- founded.
it is possible to move on foot, but the distanc-

San Giovanni Rotondo

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I luoghi della Fede The places of Faith